Ask Resourceful Mommy: Does "Your Baby Can Read" Really Work?

I keep seeing these videos of babies – Babies! – who can read, and the videos say that it is because of Your Baby Can Read. Resourceful Mommy…does this product really work?

-Heather in PA

Dear Heather in PA,

The folks at Your Baby Can Read very graciously sent me the You Can Read kit shown here so that I could try this product for myself and answer your question honestly.

And my honest answer is —–> Maybe.

The flashcards and white board, Lift-a-Flap Starter Book and Sliding Word Cards, are all very helpful in teaching children of any age – even little toddlers – many basic sitewords. My two year old very easily learned words such as Mommy, Daddy, his name, his sister’s name, cat, dog….the list goes on and on.

However, I was not able to fully implement this program in my child’s life because of one step: “Watch the DVD twice a day.”

The American Academy of Pediatricians strongly recommends that children under the age of two do not watch any television, and while I’m not able to follow that advice with my second child (did much better with my first…but second kids…geesh!), I do limit screen time for my children. Despite this fact my son is on the verge of obsessed with a host of television characters and even for some time demanded television theme songs for his tucking-in songs.

But throwing in another DVD twice a day to teach my toddler to recognize site words was just not an option for me.

That said, the other products included in the kit are wonderful and quite helpful, even when working with my four year old daughter who is an emerging reader.

So Heather in PA, I’m sorry I couldn’t answer your question more fully. Unfortunately, I think this one comes down to parenting styles, and sadly, this product just does not fit perfectly with mine.